WRAP-GH2

Jordan is one of the most water‑scarce countries in the world and at the same time faces the challenge of making its energy supply climate‑neutral and resilient to crises. This is where the WRAP-GH2 project comes in: as part of a two‑year feasibility study, the consortium is examining how the production of green hydrogen (H2) in arid regions can succeed without consuming valuable freshwater resources. The project’s innovative approach lies in linking the following three areas:

• Use of alternative water resources such as wastewater
• Deployment of agrivoltaic (AV) systems for climate‑friendly electricity generation
• Production and use of green H2 by means of decentralised hydrogen technologies

In an explanatory video produced during the initial project phase, the project team shows how this innovative system coupling can interlock. Since exchange with local stakeholders is of great importance for the project, this video also serves as a strategic tool to convey this complex topic. The link to the video can be found below.

Important steps in the first project year were in particular the following two analyses:

• PESTEL analysis: To systematically assess potential use cases according to political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal criteria (PESTEL), a comprehensive Excel‑based analysis framework was first developed and five potential sites in Jordan were examined with regard to the implementation of the overall system under consideration.
• GIS analyses: For developing the use cases, two comprehensive GIS projects were initially set up to identify suitable locations in terms of the availability of alternative water resources and potential areas for AV.

In this context, the campus of the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) was identified as a promising site for implementing the system. A wastewater treatment plant is operated on the campus grounds, and olives are cultivated in the immediate vicinity, creating important prerequisites for the various subsystems. The close cooperation between representatives of JUST and the Wuppertal Institute culminated in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at the end of 2025, which lays the foundation for smooth data and information exchange.

The exchange with JUST serves to precisely analyse the feasibility of the overall system. The aim is to discuss assumptions and results over the course of 2026 with Jordanian and German stakeholders. At the centre of this discussion is the issue of acceptance, including the question of how electrolysis‑based hydrogen production is perceived in the country and whether the use of wastewater and the integration of agri‑PV change that perception. While bilateral expert interviews are to be used initially for this purpose, a workshop is also planned. Against this backdrop, the project partners are monitoring the geopolitical situation in the region and adjusting the implementation format accordingly.

In addition, the team is actively anchoring the insights gained from the project within the scientific community:

• Early‑career researchers: Two doctoral projects at the Wuppertal Institute are linked to the project. They focus on an innovation system analysis of wastewater reuse for green H2 production (at Leuphana University Lüneburg) and research on agrivoltaic innovations (at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart).
• Dissemination: For 2026, a scientific journal article and another conference contribution are already firmly planned in order to secure long‑term knowledge transfer.